Bellator champ Askren aims to take out "over the hill" Thompson at Bellator 40

Askren thinks his next opponent, Nick Thompson (38-13-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC), whom he faces Saturday at Bellator 40 in a non-title fight, has a lot of experience and has some good wins and some bad losses in a 50-fight career.

But there’s an asterisk next to that assessment. Said the champ: “My personal opinion is that he’s over the hill.”

There wasn’t a slight tinge of hesitation or bite to Askren’s voice when he spoke Wednesday to MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) about the fight, which takes place at First Council Casino in Newkirk, Okla. He simply believes Thompson is a speedbump on his way to greater glory.

They’re words of a confident man, to be sure, but not exactly those of a fighter frothing at the mouth for his next trip to the cage. Askren, though, is just keeping it real.

“I get up for every fight,” said Askren, who headlines Saturday’s MTV2 broadcast. “That’s the mark of a champion – someone who does as well as they can every single match. They bring the heat every time, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

The man dubbed “Funky” has a similarly blunt assessment of where he stands in his professional career. He came into the sport two years ago as a hot prospect with Olympic-caliber wrestling credentials, and it took but three professional fights before Bellator snatched him up. Since then, he’s outworked four opponents en route to winning the promotion’s season-two welterweight tournament and its title.

But he has yet to fight ranked opponents who would boost his stock in the welterweight division. It’s impossible, anyway, for him to get too high on lists because most of them reside in the UFC.

Askren predicts Jay Hieron will meet Rick Hawn in the finals of Bellator’s season-four welterweight tournament next month. If he can prove his assessment of Thompson is true – and maybe even if he can’t – he thinks a fight with Hieron will be a better booster to his ranking.

He’s 26 years old, and why wait to get cracking?

“I don’t feel I’ve done anything to warrant a higher ranking than I have right now,” Askren said. “I feel like what I have is fair. But I definitely feel that if you put me in the cage with a lot of guys … above me, I can more than handle myself.”

That means the veteran Thompson is in a prime position to deflate the confident youngster. A full-time lawyer and part-time fighter, “The Goat” has been on a skid as of late with three consecutive losses in his most recent fights. But that, as well as Askren’s public confidence, could provide just the fire needed to deliver an upset.

Thompson doesn’t actually disagree with Askren’s assessment of his current career. But he’s got an asterisk that he’d like to add.

“I think it’s definitely true that I’m on the downside of my career now,” a depleted Thompson told MMAjunkie.com just after weighing in for the fight. “Although I think he’s still on the uphill; I don’t think he’s reached his potential.

“We’ll see where the rubber meets the road. And frankly, his opinion doesn’t make one difference as to whether I can knock him out or submit him. Most of the guys I’ve knocked out thought they were better than me.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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